A lively space just off the Hudson River has been re-activated as Martha’s has officially soft opened inside Hoboken’s prominent Maxwell Place.
Jersey Digs was the first outlet to break the news about the restaurant’s imminent arrival back in April. Previous tenant La Isla announced they were shutting down their outpost at 25 12th Street and restaurateur Alex Cabrera got moving quickly taking over the sizable storefront.
Cabrera has operated Harry’s Food and Drink in North Bergen since 2018 after they opened near North Hudson Park. His latest Hoboken endeavor serves a diverse menu of truly global cuisine with appetizers that include a Spanish octopus a la plancha with giant beans crispy Rhode Island calamari, or tuna tartare spring rolls.
Entrees at Martha’s include steak frites, lobster paella, crab pasta, or a roasted salmon with artichokes, sweet corn and potato hash.
The restaurant sports a full bar with beers on tap and a wine list plus cocktails that include a limoncello spritz, a “Mexican lullaby” with 400 conejos mezcal, kiwi puree, simple, falernum, yellow chartreuse, lemon juice, or a “Golden Hour” that mixes Ketel One vodka, elderflower, white peach puree, lemon juice, and yuzu bitters.
Cabrera says Martha’s moniker comes from “strong, fierce women who’ve left their mark, starting with my mother-in-law.” He notes that the name became more meaningful when he learned about Martha Bayard, who has a building named after her at Stevens Institute of Technology and became a noted philanthropist that funded the Hoboken Public Library in 1896 and endowed the Church of the Holy Innocents, among other achievements.
The modern-day version of Martha’s will soon be rolling out a brunch on weekends and is currently hiring bartenders, line cooks, and servers. They are now open Tuesday through Sunday starting at 5 p.m. for dinner services and can be followed on Instagram at the handle @marthashoboken.
